Machine for testing ropes.



'No. 889,993. PATENTED JUNE 9, 1908.

J. A. VAUGHAN & W. M. EPTON.

MACHINE FOR TESTING ROPES.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 27. 1907.

fi 7 (Wm.

' dill'ering in degree.

a fixed headstock and c a tailstock freely UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE;

JOHN ALl ltlCl) VAUGHAN AND WILLIAM MiutllN EPTON, ()l" JOHANNESBURG,'lTRANS'VI-XAL, ASSIGNURS TU lllCOldll) URADUUh, Ul BOLTON LODGE, BOLTONPERCY, YORKSHIRE,

.ENULA X l).

MACHINE FOR TESTING ROPES.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented June 9, 1908.

No. ss9,993.

Application filed August 27, 1907. Serial No. 390,396.

! head gimbal has a journaled shaft I". which passes revolubly throughthe headstock b and is secured therein by a collar Z. To the shaft iskeyed a hand wheel in for rotating it and a detentn and detent wheel 0are pro (olony of the Transvaal, have invented cer i vided to hold theshaft in the desired positain new and useful Improvements in Mation. Anindicator p shows the angle chines for 'lesting Hopes for Vt'inding,Haulthrough which the specimen has been ing, and like Purposes or theStrands or twisted.

Wires 'lherefor, of which the following is a g is a table mounted upon asuitably conspecilication. structed guide 1" to slide freely in alongitudi- The present invention relates to the testing nal directionupon the frame a. The upper of ropes intended for winding hauling orlike surface of the table has a number of underpurposes or the separatestrands or wires of cut grooves s by which one or more grooved or forthe same; the object being to provide pulleys i may be secured to thetable atany an apparatus for this purpose, suchthat the desired point torevolve freely thereon. conditions of the tests and the stresses pro-About such pulley or pulleys t the specimen duced in the specimen duringtesting apis lapped in such manner as may appear deproximate closely incharacter and effect to sirable for any individual test. In theillusthose occurring under ordinary working contration two pulleys areshown and the speciditions in mine and similar work, although men islapped completely about each one in succession, but of course any otherarrange ment may be made.

The table. is caused to reciprocate upon the guide 1" by cranks u andconnecting rods 41, the cranks being keyed to a shaft w on which is apulley :r driven by belt 1 A counter 2 is driven off the crank shaft'21) by a band Z, and indicates the number of reciprocations of the T 0all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, JOHN ALFRED: VAUGHAN and WiLLIAM I\'IARTIN EPTON,British subjects, residing at 'll'inchester Ilouse, Loveday street,Johannesburg, in the Apparatus according to this invention isconstructed to subject the specimen simultaneously to tension; tointermittent flexurethrough any desired angle and restraighten ing withor without reversed bending applied successively over a substantialportion of its length; to friction upon pulleys and also if desired uponitself; and in some cases also table in a given time. to torsion. VVlnlethe nature of the tests may ob- In the accompanying drawings, Figure Iviously be varied to a very large extent according to the resultsdesired, a typical procedure in comparing the working values of twospecimens obtained from different sources would be as follows. Thepulley or pulleys t of the requisite size having been secured to thetable q in such position as may be desired, a specimen of the desiredlength is fixed at one end in one of the grips passed about the pulleyor pulleys t to the extent and in the manner predetermined and thereuponfiXed into the remaininggrip. A measured tensional stress'is thenapplied by means is a side elevation and Fig. 11 a plan of oneembodiment of the invention constructively suitable for testing singlewires or strands.

Therein (1 indicates a main framework, b

movable longitudinally of the table upon a guide (1.

.The specimen 6 is held in grips f of any convenient construction, whichgrips are secured to the stocks by universal joints such as the gimbalsg illustrated. The purpose of these connections is to obviate bending ofthe specimen at the month of the grips. of the adjustable weight it andif desired tor- Tension is applied to the s )ecimen by sional stress isproduced and noted. Recipmeans of the adjustable weight h connectedrocation of the table is now started and conto the tailstock c by aflexible connection 6 tinued until the specimen fractures. In the eventof the specimen becoming unduly heated, suitable steps would be taken toremove the heat and maintain the temperature at the normal level. Thesecond specimen being then treated in an exactly similar manner, thenumber of reciprocations of the table in each case will furnish ameasure of the which passes around an idler pulley j, but it will ofcourse be understood that the means for ap )lying and indicating thetension would be largely modified according to the size of the specimenwhich the machine is designed to test.

To enable the specimen to be twisted, the

relative efhciencies under the actual Working conditions simulated inthe vform of the test Many other methods of using the machine willsuggest themselves, as forexample the determination of the e'fliciencyof identical samples under diverse working conditions.

Weclann as our invention I 1. In a testing machine of the classspecified, the combination of means for subjecting the specimen tomeasurable and regulatable tension, a plurality of loose pulleys aboutwhich the specimen is lapped, means for holding said pulleys with theiraxes in fixed relation to one another, and means independent of thetensioning means for reciprocating said pulley holding means.

2. In a testing machine of the class specified, the combination of meansfor subjecting the specimen to measurable and regulatable tension,pulleys about which the specimen is lapped, means for reciprocating saidpulleys,

means for holding the specimen and for ap plying torsion thereto.

3. In a testing machine of the class described, the. combination of abed, a table slidably mounted thereon, means for reciprocating thetable, a counter for recording the reciprocations, loose pulleys adaptedto be secured to the table about which pulleys the specimen is lapped,flexibly mounted grips for the specimen and means for applying tensionto the specimen through the grips.

twist the specimen and means for locking such rotatable grip. y

In a testingrmachine of the class described, the combination of a bed, atable slidably mounted thereon, means for reciprocating the table, acounter for recording the reciprocations, loose ulleys adapted to besecured to the table, a out which pulleys the specimen is lapped,flexibly mounted grips for the specimen, means for applying. tension tothe specimen through the grips, one of said grips being capable ofrotation to twist the specimen, means for locking such rotatable gripand an indicatorfor measuring the twist imparted to the specimen.

In testimony whereof We afiix our signatures in presence of twowitnesses.

JOHN ALFRED VAUGHAN. .WILLIAM MARTIN EPTON. Vvitnesses ALFRED L. Spoon,0. II. M. Hrnc'n.

